Trump’s Twitter silence about Puerto Rico’s devastation is deafening

It has been five days since Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico. Thirteen people have died. All of the island nation is without power and may remain so for up to six months. Around 70,000 people living in the Guajatacata River’s floodplain have been forced to evacuate their homes. According to Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez, the destruction will set the country back “nearly 20 to 30 years.”

Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, meaning its 3.4 million people are citizens of the United States. While the Pentagon said it has dispatched members of Army Corps engineers—4,000 Army Reserve members have been also deployed to the country, along with 1,600 Nation Guard members, according to FEMA—Trump hasn’t said much about Puerto Rico since the hurricane first hit on Wednesday. He instead spent his weekend tweeting over a dozen times about sports figures and kneeling for the flag, interspersed with threats to North Korea and insults to senators who don’t want to repeal Obamacare.

If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!

Many are calling out Trump—who expressed concern for the victims of recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida but who, in general, has not shown much respect for people of color—for his silence. One detractor, in particular, was Hillary Clinton.

President Trump, Sec. Mattis, and DOD should send the Navy, including the USNS Comfort, to Puerto Rico now. These are American citizens. https://t.co/J2FVg4II0n